The Lord's Day: Pipa's Preparation Points

Unless you are a modern believer in "all nine of the ten commandments", or even if you ARE mathematically challenged when it comes to the 4th commandment but yet you still want to make Sundays special, here are a few tips on how you can leverage Saturdays to help you get ready for the Lord's Day. These are a few pointers from Joseph Pipa (no that's not how they spell Piper in Massachusetts). ... [Read More!]

There's No Substitute For Much Time in Prayer   John Welch

One of the most remarkable men in Scotland's history was John Welch, son-in-law of John Knox, the great Scottish reformer. He was not so well known as his famous father-in-law but in some respects he was a far more remarkable man than John Knox himself. Most people have the idea that it was John Knox who prayed: "Give me Scotland or I die". It was not, it was John Welch, his son-in-law. ... [Read More!]

God's Glory Should Be The Aim of Our Every Action   John Hall

God is glorified by our making His glory the supreme motive of every action. We should not only regard it to be our duty to promote the glory of God generally by an obedient life, but as far as possible, make this the first matter of consideration in every act of life. ... [Read More!]

The World Should See Something Different in Us   John Bunyan

The believer is the only person by whom God shows to the world the power of His grace and the operation of His people's faith. The unbelievers read indeed of the power of grace; of the faith, hope, love, peace, and satisfaction of the heart of the Christian; but they feel nothing of that sin-killing operation that is in these things; these are to them as a story of Rome or Spain. Wherefore to show them in others, what they find is not in themselves; God works faith, hope, and love in a generation that shall serve Him; and by them they shall see what they cannot find in themselves, and by this means they shall be convinced, that though sin, and the pleasures of this life, be sweet to them, yet there is a people otherwise minded. ... [Read More!]

Puritan Prayer Advice For Today's Christians   Joel Beeke

Prayer helps us cling to the altar of God's promises by which we lay hold of God Himself. Failing to pray is the downfall of many Christians today. "A family without prayer is like a house without a roof, open and exposed to all the storms of heaven" wrote Thomas Brooks. If the giants of church history dwarf us today, perhaps it is not because they were more educated, more devout, or more faithful as much as because they were men of prayer. They were possessed with the Spirit of supplication. ... [Read More!]

Pastor I Cant Sleep, Can You Come Over & Preach?   Charles Spurgeon

You are probably all acquainted with ministers who have mistaken their calling, and evidently have no gifts for preaching; make sure that none think the same of you. There are brethren in the ministry whose speech is intolerable; either they dun you to death, or else they send you to sleep. No chloral can ever equal their discourse in sleep-giving properties. No human being, unless gifted with infinite patience, could long endure to listen to them, and nature does well to give the victim deliverance through sleep. ... [Read More!]

Godly Living Involves Both Discipline and Grace   Joel Beeke

Pursue godliness in dependence on the Holy Spirit. The way to godly living is surprisingly simple: We are to walk with God in His appointed way (Mic 6:8), diligently using the means of grace and the spiritual disciplines, and waiting on the Holy Spirit for blessing. Note that godly living involves both discipline and grace. This emphasis on duty and grace is fundamental to Reformed, experiential perspective on godly living. As the Puritan John Flavel wrote, "The duty is ours, though the power be God's. A natural man has no power, a gracious man hath some, though not sufficient; and that power he hath depends upon the assisting strength of Christ." ... [Read More!]

Our Supreme Need: Knowledge of God   Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Our supreme need is a knowledge of the character of God. It's an astonishing thing to have to say, but it is never the less the truth. All of our troubles in this Christian life ultimately arise from our ignorance of the character of God. If only we knew God as He is, we then of course would be like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who lived in this world as we do, and was subject to the same difficulties and trials and temptations as we are, and yet how different His life was. Why? Because He knew God. He knew the character of God. ... [Read More!]

Self-Denial: An Obscure Concept in Today's Church   Walter Chantry

Self-denial is a practice that lies at the very heart of true religion. Without its exercise there can be no conversion to Christ. Qualities most basic to a Christian frame of heart - notably humility and meekness - would dissolve without it's active expression. Self-denial awaits the sons of God as they enter upon their private devotions. It stands at the threshold of witnessing and other service to our holy Lord. It is a most painful element in each struggle after holiness. Denial of self is the key to the solution of numerous practical questions which perplex the sober-minded believer today. A right understanding of this basic biblical demand would silence a host of errors regarding evangelism, sanctification, and practical living. ... [Read More!]

Prayer is The Measure Of The Man   DA Carson

What is surprising and depressing is the sheer prayerlessness that characterizes so much of the Western church. It is surprising because it is out of step with the bible that portrays what Christian living should be; it is depressing, because it frequently coexists with abounding Christian activity that somehow seems hollow, frivolous, and superficial. Scarcely less disturbing is the enthusiastic praying in some circles that overflows with emotional release but is utterly uncontrolled by any thoughtful reflection on the prayers of Scripture. ... [Read More!]

18th Century Tips For Benefitting From Sermons   George Whitefield

Jesus said, 'Therefore consider carefully how you listen' (Luke 8:18). Here are some cautions and directions, in order to help you hear sermons with profit and advantage: 1. Come to hear them, not out of curiosity, but from a sincere desire to know and do your duty. To enter His house merely to have our ears entertained, and not our hearts reformed, must certainly be highly displeasing to the Most High God, as well as unprofitable to ourselves. ... [Read More!]

Harsh, Narrow-Minded, and Bigoted   Charles Spurgeon

This generation has made a god of its own. The effeminate deity of the modern school is no more the true God than Dagon or Baal. I know him not, neither do I reverence him. But Jehovah is the true God: he is the God of love, but he is also robed in justice; he is the God of forgiveness, but he is also the God of atonement; he is the God of heaven, but he is also the God who sends the wicked down to hell. ... [Read More!]

17 Tips On Christian Living From 1741    Link

In the era of the Great Awakening, a letter from
Jonathan Edwards in response to an inquiry from a young person, gave some excellent advice:My Dear Young Friend: As you desired me to send you, in writing, some directions how to conduct yourself in your Christian course, I would now answer your request... [Read Link]

When Believers Organize on Activities & Activism

We are living in days when the practical aspect of Christianity is being emphasized almost exclusively by some Christians. It is the day of activism and of activists. The world has never been so busy in trying to deal with its various problems; and the same is largely true of the Church. The practical, activist type of Christian is suspicious of a teaching which he thinks will make people sit down in isolation and wait for experiences. 'They never do anything else', he says, 'they are not practical Christians; they are not involved in all the usual activities'. Such an argument is based on sheer ignorance, not only of the Scriptures, but also of Church history. ... [Read More!]